She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 46)

“We go as though we are in the air”

In spite of the very difficult positions in which they held themselves, in spite of the long marches, in spite of being on their knees on top of sharp stones, their impression was always that the vision had lasted only a brief time; and when it ended, they remained with a sensation of having rested. All their appearance seemed to confirm this since they showed no sign of fatigue or of exertion. Their complection had a light pallor, but felt fresh to the touch.

We have already mentioned some of the things that were said by Mari Cruz' mother. Pertaining to this is the following:

«One day a man from Madrid was here and he said to my daughter, If you will repeat now the things you were doing, I will make your home into a chalet and I will buy you a car. She shrugged her shoulders.
But I said, How is she going to do that? Really it is impossible for her to do that thing again.
And there is no one who can do it. Do you think a person is going to stay in the position that she was in one time for two and a half hours? Who is going to stay two and a half hours the way she stayed?
And who will fall on their knees on top of a sharp stone and not hurt their knees, as she did one time without anything happening? Mr. Emilio del Valle took that stone. She was on it about three quarters of an hour and Emilio said it is not possible to stay in that position. I can assure you that Mari Cruz is not faking this.»

______

Escolástico put in his part:

«Candido and I were in the stable one day and we were laughing at them and we were asking them, "What are you accomplishing with this?" And they answered us, "You are laughing? Well, some day you will see."»

______

Mari Cruz' mother added:
«Why doesn't the Virgin act in these apparitions the same as she has acted in the others?»

_________

Men rule the affairs of earth, but not the affairs of heaven . . .

______

Continuing the report of Father Andreu:
«Faced with the intrusion of curious and devoted people who were coming in great numbers, the parents determined to close the doors of their homes and keep the children inside. The Virgin told them to obey and that she would continue to come in spite of everything.

Beginning on August 3rd, the falls in the state of trance increased considerably; sometimes the four together; sometimes several of them; sometimes only one. The position that they adopt in these falls is truly like a sculpture of great beauty.
It was not remembered — I certainly have not seen it — that they even one time took a position the least bit indecent or incorrect.(10) They could be on the ground a moment or several minutes. The fall, when several of them were involved, was accustomed to be admirably synchronized; and without the least preparation, they formed groupings that were on the whole truly extraordinary.»

__________

Father Arintero, in his book The Mystical Evolution mentions, "In the false ecstasies, the convulsive movements that usually occur are uncoordinated and unseemly, and the person is exposed to great dangers; while in the divine ecstasies an admirable modesty and composure is kept, and there is no risk of danger, even though the person should happen to fall into fire."(11)

«In the Garabandal phenomena two groups or camps can be distinguished. One group consists of the spectators and the other of the young girls. The spectators could see the girls and their manner of comporting themselves, their movements, laughter, words, anesthesia, etc.; but they could not see the apparition. The girls viewed the apparition, being in its light, hearing its words; but they did not see nor were they aware of the public, although they knew that the public was there since the apparition told them of this many times.
The girls in their vision saw each other; however if one of them came out of the ecstasy and the others did not, the ones in the ecstasy no longer saw the one who was not in it. If she went back into ecstasy they would see her.
There existed also an intermediate zone. From the first days of September it was observed that the girls who were in ecstasy were able to establish contact with the other visionaries who were not; but only with them. Thus, for example, if Jacinta went into ecstasy, she could communicate with Mari Cruz, Loli, and Conchita who were near to her and out of ecstasy, that is, in the normal state. This contact was established through questions which could only be made mentally.

10. Donna María Josefa Herrero y Garralda, a woman from León who went up to Garabandal in July and August of 1961, assured me about this, marveling over the perfect modesty that the girls demonstrated during their ecstatic falls. Not only was their bodily posture really beautiful and dignified, but also their clothes always fell in a proper way, even to sliding in a direction that appeared contrary to the law of gravity: «It was as if an invisible hand was there not to permit anything bad to happen; everyone felt a great respect in front of these scenes.»

11. Andrés Otero Lorenzo was present during these days of July and August in 1961 at an extraordinary spectacle of which there were many witnesses: a mysterious game of the girls in ecstasy in the choir loft of the parish church. Repeatedly with their faces looking up and listening to someone invisible, they mounted on top of the railing of that choir loft without looking where they were putting their feet and walked along the outside edge, in continuous danger of falling and hurting themselves. And they jumped down to the floor of the church and then went back up to jump down again.

The first time that he saw them on the choir loft railing, or outside of it, the man ran to give possible help, saying very fearfully, They will fall and be killed! And he could not understand the calmness of Ceferino, Loli's father, who unexcitedly said, Don't worry, nothing is going to happen.